Dust seals for trunks



3,33 LZQS March 1957 E. c. PHCKARD DUST SEALS FOR TRUNKS Filed Dec. 29, 1965 Fig.2.

Y i 26c 14 INVENTOR. EDGAR C.

BY I

PICKARD ATTORNEY United States Patent 0 3,311,203 DUST SEALS FOR TRUNKS Edgar C. Pickard, 1797 Mount Royal Blvd, Glenshaw, Pa. 15116 Filed Dec. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 517,268 4 Claims. ((Jl. 190-19) This invention relates to trunks adapted to store cloth ing and other personal effects and by which said effects may be transported, and more particularly to improv ments in dust seals for trunks of the type described.

As is known, trunks of the type described consist of a bottom wall and upstanding walls which define a cavity or compartment within which clothing and other personal effects are stored. A lid is provided which is hinged to one of the side walls so that it may be closed and opened as desired. The lid normally includes a peripheral skirt which has coplanar edges. A dust seal in the form of a bead, is provided around the side walls and is positioned to be engaged by the coplanar edges of the skirt when the lid is closed. In this manner, the ingress of dust is prevented.

Heretofore, strips of wood were glued to the side walls and secured by means of fasteners. The skirt of the lid engaged the strips of wood to provide a dust seal. In order to present a finished appearance, the ends of the wooden strips were mitered and all of the strips were painted.

This type of dust seal has several disadvantages which the present invention seeks to overcome. For example, sooner or later, the wooden strips become loosened due to continual opening and closing of the lid, to the point that they no longer provide an effective dust seal. Loosening and warping of the wooden strips then causes the mitered ends to open up, that is, spread apart, as well as chipping of the paint. As should be evident, the trunk soon has an unsightly appearance.

The trunks normally are subjected to rough handling during shipping. For example, the trunks normally are thrown on a carrier vehicle and they strike other trunks or the sides of the carrier vehicle. It should be evident that the wooden strips cannot be subjected to such rough handling without some damage occurring thereto. The trunks are constructed such that the lid engages and rests only on the wooden strips. Consequently, when one or more persons sit on the trunk or'when other trunks are placed on top, their weight is carried entirely by the wooden strips. It should be evident that these acts sooner or later cause the strips to be warped and/or become loosened and thereby destroy their dust sealing function.

Accordingly, as an overall object, the present invention seeks to provide a dust seal element of improved construction and by which the above-described disadvantages are eliminated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dust seal element for trunks, which is capable of withstanding the rough handling to which trunks are subjected.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a dust seal element which is formed from a continuous member having a hollow, square or rectangular cross section which facilitates its fabrication and installation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dust seal element formed from a continuous member which is bent at preselected locations whereby strong integral corners are provided.

In accordance with the present invention, a dust seal member is provided which comprises a continuous length of metal tubing. The tubing is notched at predetermined locations along its length and bent at the notches so as to provide integral corners which appear to be mitered Patented Mar. 28, 196? joints. The bent tubing is placed around the side walls of the trunk and is secured thereto by means of fasteners. The tubing is positioned such that the coplanar edges of the lid of the trunk will engage the tubing when the lid is closed and thereby provide an effective dust seal.

Further in accordance with the present invention, the opposite ends of the tubing are abutted at a location other than at a corner of the trunk and therefore are less subject to damage. The metal tubing preferably has a square cross section which, as will be described, facilitates notching and bending of the tubing as well as installing the tubing on the trunk.

The above and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a conventional trunk provided with the dust seal element of the invention;

PEG. 2 is a plan view of the trunk of FIG. 1, with the lid removed;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a continuous length of metal tubing used in the formation of the dust seal element of the invention;

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C are fragmentary cross-sectional views of the tubing of FIG. 3, illustrating the steps in forming an integral corner;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary isometric view of the metal tubing illustrating a completed integral corner;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VIVI of FIG. 2, illustrating the method of fastening the dust seal element of the invention to a side wall of the trunk; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view, similar to FIG. 6, illustrating the engagement of a trunk lid with the dust seal element of the invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is illustrated a trunk lid having a bottom wall 12, upstanding side walls 14 and a lid to hinged along one edge to one of the side walls 14. The lid 16 includes a peripheral skirt 1% having coplanar lower edges 26 positioned to engage a dust sealing element, indicated generally by the numeral 22. Latch or lock means (not shown) are provided on the lid and on the trunk body for locking the lid in a closed condition.

As can best be seen in FIG. 2, the dust sealing element 22 extends completely around the periphery of the trunk 19 and has a number of corners 24 which correspond with the corners of the trunk 19.

In accordance with the present invention and as best shown in FIG. 3, the dust sealing element 22 is formed from a continuous length of metal tubing 26 having opposite ends 28. A plurality of V-shaped notches 30 are cut in the tubing 26 at redetermined locations along its length, so as to provide tubing segments 26a, 26b, 26c, 26d and zsa Thereafter, the metal tubing 26 is bent about the notches 30 into the rectangular configuration illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. It is to be noted that the opposite ends 23 are preferably abutted at a location on the back wall 14 which corresponds to the location of one of the hinges. Consequently, the abutted opposite ends 28 are positioned at a location wherein they are less subject to damage.

Referring now to FIG. 4A, it will be seen that the metal tubing 25 preferably comprises a square tubing having an inner wall 32, an outer wall 34, an upper wall 36 and a lower wall 38. The terms inner, outer, upper and lower are employed to identify the walls of the tubing 26 with respect to their position relative to the trunk 10 and with respect to the rectangular configuration illustrated in FIG. 2. That is to say, the inner wall 32. would be engaged with the side walls 14 while the outer wall 34- corresponds to the utter periphery of the dust sealing element 22. As can be seen in FIG. 4A, the V-shaped notch 30 is formed by making two separate cuts along the dash'dot lines 40, 42. The cuts 40 and 42 extend through the inner wall 32 and the upper and lower walls 36, 38. After the cuts 49, 42 have been made, a pie-shaped portion, not illustrated, is removed from the tubing 26 and there remains two cut edges 44, 46. It will be noted that the cuts 46, 42 do not extend into the outer wall 34. Therefore, the outer wall 34 remains intact and provides an outer wall portion 48, at the apex of the notch 30, about which the tubing 26 is bent. The outer wall 34 will provide a continuous ribbon of metal which extends completely around the trunk 19.

Referring now to FIG. 4B, the tubing 26 is shown being bent about the outer wall portion 48. In FEG. 4C, the bending process has been completed at which time the cut edges 44, 46 are abutted and a right angle corner 24 is formed. For the purpose of clarity, the completed corner 24 is illustrated in an isometric view in FIG. 5.

It should be noted that the square configuration of the tubing 26 facilitates cutting of the notches 30 as well as bending of the tubing. That is to say, when the metal tubing 26 is placed on a worktable, one of its walls will be engaged over the surface of the worktable. All of the notches 30 may be cut so that the cut edges 44 (FIG. 4A) are parallel to one another and all of the cut edges 46 (FIG. 4A) are parallel to one another. Thus, when the tubing 26 is bent about the notches 30, the upper wall 36 of each leg in the rectangular configuration of the sealing member 22 will be substantially coplanar. Consequently, after all of the corners have been formed, the opposite ends 28- will be abutted in aligned relation.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, a plurality of openings 49 and 50 are drilled through the inner and outer walls 32, 34-, respectively, prior to bending of the tubing 26. The openings 49, 5%? are provided at predetermined locations along the length of the tubing 26. As can be seen in FIG. 6, a fastener, such as wood screw 52 is inserted completely through the openings 5% and then through the openings 49 and are screwed into the side wall 14 to secure the metal tubing 26 to the side wall 14.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the metal tubing 26 is positioned on the side walls 14 such that the coplanar edges 26 of the skirt 18, will engage the upper wall 36 of the tubing 26 to provide the aforementioned dust seal. Inasmuch as the dust sealing element 22 has integral corners 24 and since the dust sealing element 22 is rigidly secured to the side walls 14, the dust sealing element 22 cannot be warped to destroy the desired dust sealing function. Furthermore, the metal tubing 26 is more capable of withstanding the rough usage to which the trunk 10 will be subjected during shipment. Also, since the metal tubing 26 is one integral piece and since it completely surrounds the periphery of the trunk 10, it additionally serves two important functions. First the metal tubing 26 will hold the side walls 14 together in the event the side walls 14 become loosened and open up. Second, the metal tubing 26 insures, under all conditions, that the lid 16 will not bind.

Although the invention has been shown in connection with one specific embodiment, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and arrangement of parts may be made to suit requirements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a trunk having a bottom wall, upstanding side walls, and a lid hinged to one of said side walls and including a skirt which overlaps said side walls when said lid is in a closed condition, and means cooperating with said skirt for sealing said trunk against the ingress of dust, the improvement in said sealing means comprising: a continuous sealing member extending completely around the periphery of said trunk and secured to said side walls, said sealing member being spaced below the upper edges of said side walls and positioned for engagement by said skirt, said sealing member comprising a length of metal tubing having notches cut therein at preselected locations along its length, said metal tubing being bent in the region of said notches to form corners corresponding with the corners of said trunk.

2. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein said metal tubing has a square cross-sectional configuration.

3. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein said metal tubing has a square transverse cross section and wherein said notches are cut through three adjacent walls of said tubing, the fourth wall of said tubing remaining intact and comprising a continuous length of metal extending completely around said trunk.

4. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein said metal tubing has opposite ends which are abutted in aligned relation at a location intermediate one of said side walls.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,718,134 6/1929 Gallion 190-19 2,735,699 2/1956 Prew.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

D. F. NORTON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A TRUNK HAVING A BOTTOM WALL, UPSTANDING SIDE WALLS, AND A LID HINGED TO ONE OF SAID SIDE WALLS AND INCLUDING A SKIRT WHICH OVERLAPS SAID SIDE WALLS WHEN SAID LID IS IN A CLOSED CONDITION, AND MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID SKIRT FOR SEALING SAID TRUNK AGAINST THE INGRESS OF DUST, THE IMPROVEMENT IN SAID SEALING MEANS COMPRISING: A CONTINUOUS SEALING MEMBER EXTENDING COMPLETELY AROUND THE PERIPHERY OF SAID TRUNK AND SECURED TO SAID SIDE WALLS, SAID SEALING MEMBER BEING SPACED BELOW THE UPPER EDGES OF SAID SIDE WALLS AND POSITIONED FOR ENGAGEMENT BY SAID SKIRT, SAID SEALING MEMBER COMPRISING A LENGTH OF METAL TUBING HAVING NOTCHES CUT THEREIN AT PRESELECTED LOCATIONS ALONG ITS LENGTH, SAID METAL TUBING BEING BENT IN THE REGION OF SAID NOTCHES TO FORM CORNERS CORRESPONDING WITH THE CORNERS OF SAID TRUNK. 